Iowa Star Award finalists, Dr. Richard Deming, Suku Radia and Ambassador Kenneth Quinn explain their proudest accomplishments. The award honors individuals who work to promote self-sufficiency and improve the lives of the most vulnerable.

A well-known Des Moines cancer doctor was badly injured in a bicycle crash over the weekend, but is now recovering at Mercy Medical Center.

Dr. Richard Deming, a radiation oncologist, was on a training ride with a group of cyclists Saturday riding between Altoona and Elkhart.

Mercy Medical Center Spokesman Gregg Lagan said the doctor described the ride as a straight line of cyclists with only a few inches of clearance between the back tire of one bicycle and the front tire of the next.

"One of the bicycles made contact with the rider in front of him," Lagan said. "Since you've only got an inch to 2 inches of clearance, it's tough to stop. So Dr. Deming ended up going down."

Deming, a 29-year employee of Mercy, is the medical director of the Mercy Cancer Center. He also founded Above + Beyond Cancer, a charity that takes cancer survivors on adventures around the globe.

Saturday's accident left Deming with a concussion, six broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a broken collar bone, multiple abrasions and a punctured lung, Lagan said. The doctor also lost consciousness.

He has been in Mercy's neuro-trauma intensive care unit since Saturday.

"He's made considerable progress, so he's in fair condition today," Lagan said Tuesday evening, "and he likely will get out of the unit tomorrow and go to a regular floor."

Deming was wearing a bike helmet. It was shattered in the accident.

The doctor was training with a group of competitive riders and triathletes. A Mercy neurosurgeon was on the ride and was able to help until paramedics arrived, Lagan said.